Saturday, April 10, 2010

How Northwestbands.com got started...

Some of you may wonder, "How did Northwestbands.com come to be?". Well... it was sort of an accident. Here is the short(ish) version of the story.

When I was 15 my dear friend Dana and I went to Creation- A christian music festival at the Gorge. There we heard and spoke with The Pale. ...This is how and when my teenage brain exploded.

(Oh...the pale. Fond memories. Holly st. recording studio with Cam. Way too many shows with Late Tuesday at the VU. The Lincoln Theatre.)

Me at age 15 after finding out The Pale was from Bellingham : "Woah... there's like... good bands in washington..."

Up until this point I was under the ridiculous impression that good music was found anywhere but close to home. Like, in LA or New York- but certainly not in my backyard. For a kid who grew up being a musician and listening to many local bands (nirvana, soundgarden, mudhoney...etc) I sure was clueless!

The realization of the Seattle music scene lead to an intense passion for local music. Soon I started working with Vendetta Red (doing promotion) and gained wonderful mentors such as Dave Kurtiak and Colin Johnson. These people taught me so much. How to book a show, how to book a TOUR, how to find loop holes (like being booked as the DJ on some of the shows NWB booked at 21+ clubs when I was 17-20 years old so that I could BE at my own show). All this lead to the decision to start a "company" or website. Thus, Northwestbands.com was born.

After a bit I wanted to do more than book and promote- I wanted to have a hand in the real growth of peoples' careers. When I was 17 I was introduced to John Van Deusen, a 15 year old with a huge voice and an even bigger laugh ;-). I was at his first show and was floored by him. I started to manage him- and what a wonderful experience that was! John and I grew together as young people trying to make our way into the music business. We laughed during photo shoots, over dinners, at Anchor Man... we traveled (with our dads, Rusty and Chet) to shows near and far. And even as the years have passed and he has become "John Van Deusen of The Lonely Forest" (now signed with Chris Walla's new label Trans) we have stayed friends and appreciated the role we had/have in each others lives. Thank you for the laughs and great tunes, John.

This is how Northwestbands.com began... 7 years ago. Can you believe it? Holy shit. That's a long time! It's been a process of learning as I went... until finally 2 years ago I went to college for Music Business. But there is still so much to learn. As they say "The only constant in the music industry is that it's always changing. Always."

7 years later and I am still discovering who I am and where my place is in the music industry. For now, my place is as a booking agent and manager. 7 years from now I will be a producer, I hope!

About Me

Northwest Bands Dot Com (NWB) is a booking and management company that began in a small town in Skagit Valley, WA many years ago (March 10th 2003) by a eager seventeen year old.
We began by promoting shows for such bands as Vendetta Red and The Pale. We expanded into booking and management shortly after. In 2004 we signed our first band to NWB management, fifteen year old John Van Desuen. We haven't looked back since.
NWB has worked to build strong relationships with many amazingly talented music business professionals. Many of which work at the 200-600 capacity NW venues where we book our clients. We appreciate each and every person we have had the pleasure of working with and we are fortunate enough to share those relationships with our clients.
NWB is dedicated to providing genuine relationships with our clients, our management style is friendly business. We have always felt that it is easier for an artistic person to relate to a like-minded person rather than someone who is all business. NWB was founded by a musician, a music lover, a fan. We have the experience and education to be great at music business while still maintaining an appreciation for talented musicians.